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Pepwave Max On The Go Full Review

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Friday, 07 June 2013

Pepwave Max On The Go Full Review

The
new Pepwave Max On The Go unit is a versatile box that has offers some
unique upgrade abilities that aren’t found on other competing routers on
the market today. In addition to a clear upgrade path the Max OTG units
also accept USB modems keeping the cost down when compared to more
powerful embedded solutions. The decrease in costs means users can now
get specific features that until now were only available on units that
costed over $2,000! Within the review we’ll take a full look at the
features available within the Max OTG units and break down the
difference between all the models.

Which model Max OTG should I be looking at?

At
first glance it may be somewhat confusing when you see the same picture
and three different price points on the Max OTG units. However, the
more expensive units offer advanced features like Load Balancing and
SpeedFusion that are looking at this model for various business uses.
What makes the Max OTG unique is you can buy the baseline version and if
you decide you want the more advanced features and functionality you
can purchase a software unlock without buying another unit! Think of the
Max OTG models like Windows OS versions, all the software is on the
same disc, but different license keys unlock additional features.

The baseline Pepwave Max On The Go
unit comes in at a very attractive $149.99 price point and is
specifically geared for home users, travelers and small businesses that
don’t need features only found on the higher end models. The baseline
Max OTG unit will only support 1 USB modem and can only failover from
WAN to USB. For example, if you tried to insert two USB modems into the
baseline unit it would only recognize and use one USB port.

Next up is the Pepwave Max On The Go w/Load Balancing
support. As the name implies this unit will support load balancing with
up to 4 USB modems. The load balance edition comes in at an attractive
price point of $399.99 and is the only router that offers support for
this many simultaneous connections without spending thousands. You’ll
have access to seven load balance
algorithms to prioritize and customize how each connection is used on
your network. This unit will be best suited for remote construction
sites, tradeshow events or remote office locations that need to
incorporate multiple USB connections and want to failover between USB
modems, or from Cable/DSL to multiple USB links.

Finally there’s the Pepwave Max On The Go w/SpeedFusion support available at $599.99. This unit is essentially a scaled down version of the Pepwave Max 700
and is targeted for small business or enthusiasts looking to bond
multiple data cards but don’t want to spend thousands to do it. In
addition to standard load balancing this version allows you to take
advantage of SpeedFusion,
which allows you to actually aggregate traffic for increased throughput
across multiple USB modems. This unit is ultimately designed as a cost
effective solution for remote video streaming live sporting events or
anything else you want to share in real time with friends or family and
need enhanced upload or download performance.

What does the upgrade path look like?

If
you’re unsure if you’ll need load balancing or failover the baseline
edition can be upgraded to the Max OTG w/Load Balancing or to the full
edition with SpeedFusion capability. Likewise the Max OTG w/Load
Balancing can be upgraded to the full edition with SpeedFusion if you
decide you want to take advantage of bonding down the road. The models
aren’t backwards compatible, which means you can’t take a load balance
version and turn it into a baseline model. The really nice thing is
there isn’t a premium fee attached with an upgrade, so you’ll just pay
the difference to the model you want to upgrade to. Upon your upgrade
order you’ll receive a serial that needs to be input in the router to
unlock the additional features!

Design of the unit:

The
Max OTG units are the smallest router currently available that support
multiple USB modems offering both a single LAN and WAN connection for
local and wide area networks. The actual size of the unit is only 4.3” x
4.3” x 1.2” making it easily portable into a laptop case, mounted
nearby a camera system or placed in a vehicle. The unit also comes with
an internal WiFi radio to provide WiFi to nearby devices, or you can
easily add any RP-SMA WiFi antenna
to increase the range of the WiFi. On the top of the unit users will
also find status indicator lights for WAN and WiFi status to see what
connections are up or currently unavailable.

Unit features:

3G/4G USB Modem Support: The Max OTG units has four USB ports for 3G/4G modems (only one active on baseline version) and over 150 modems from providers worldwide are supported (see the full compatibility list).
For home or business users who rely on a cellular connection, the Max
OTG can perform a variety of “Health Checks” to ensure that the
connection stays active.

WiFi as WAN:
The Max OTG has the ability to pick up external WiFi networks (like
campground WiFi or a hotspot/Jetpack — virtually any WiFi network that
is open or for which you have the password). Even if you have your own
internet connection, the ability to use the Max OTG for WAW can come in
VERY handy. WAW is great in the event of an unexpected internet outage —
if your primary connection goes down and there is an open WiFi network
in range, or if you have a smartphone that can be used as a WiFi hotspot
(like the iPhone and many others), the Max OTG can be configured to
quickly connect to WiFi and your network will be back online in moments.

Failover/Failback:
For home or business users that can’t afford to be offline, the Max OTG
can prioritize internet connections with a simple drag and drop
interface. If the primary connection fails, the router will detect it
and automatically connect to the next prioritized connection (Baseline Max OTG unit can only failover from WAN to USB).
The Max OTG will also continue to check the status of the primary
connection and will reconnect to it when it comes back online. Failover
happens quickly (within about 20 seconds on average) and without user
intervention meaning the transition between connections is completely
seamless. View a demo of Pepwave/Peplink’s speedy failover

Bandwidth Monitoring:
These controls allow you to monitor how much data is being used by the
computers/devices on your network. Whether you have a limited data
allowance from your provider (like Verizon’s 5GB or 10GB monthly
allowance) or simply want to be able to manage and monitor your usage,
these controls are extremely valuable and competing routers in this
price range do NOT offer anything like it! Usage can be viewed in
monthly, daily, or hourly reports to give you an overview of when and by
which device/user the data is being consumed, and you can even view
usage in real-time. These monitoring options can be very helpful if you
notice a spike in data usage from a specific IP address — it can help
you identify a computer that may have data-sucking malware installed on
it, for example, or it can simply help you keep an eye on the
productivity of all users on the network.

PepVPN:
The baseline and load balance Max On The Go have PepVPN support, which
allows users to easily network Max OTG units to other PepVPN-enabled
devices. For example, rather than having to deploy expensive hardware at
each location to build a reliable network, a business could utilize a
Balance router at the primary location and install Max OTG units out in
the field; each Max oTG can then connect to the primary network with
very little setup. PepVPN can also be used to connect a Max OTG to a
Peplink Balance that’s utilizing the SpeedFusion bonding technology.
When connecting to a SpeedFusion-capable router (Balance 210 or above),
PepVPN builds multiple tunnels back to the router to provide Dynamic Wan
Failover without interrupting the connection. With a single click in
the GUI all traffic can be routed over the VPN. There is no other setup
required, and no complicated outbound policies to configure.

Dynamic DNS Support:
With a dynamic DNS account set up, Max OTG users can connect to their
router from any internet connection using a custom URL (e.g.
homesurfsoho.dyndns.org). This opens up one more way for users to
remotely manage their network and its resources without the need for a
costly static IP address.

InControl Management (coming soon!):
InControl is a free tool that allows users of Pepwave/Peplink devices
to manage all of their equipment in one centralized system.
Administrators can generate reports, gather statistics, control guest
access, and even configure the network remotely. This powerful service
is incredibly useful and nothing like it is available for other
competing routers. View a demo of InControl

Pepwave Router Utility Application:
With the Router Utility Application for iOS and Android, network
monitoring has never been easier. View device status, bandwidth usage,
events, and more. Push notifications give you up to the minute updates
on any major changes or performance issues, preventing small issues from
becoming big problems.

(Router Utility App)

Conclusion:

The
Pepwave Max On The Go is a very flexible box that can cover home users
all the way up to enthusiasts that want to bond and aggregate multiple
data links together. Having three different models allows the Max OTG
units to target multiple uses and offers an easy upgrade path, which
means if your needs change down the road you don’t have to buy
additional hardware. The Load Balance and SpeedFusion versions are
substantially less expensive than other devices like the Pepwave Max 700
that can support up to 4 USB modems. Between the three models the
SpeedFusion version is going to be a great low cost option for anybody
that needs to bond multiple data links with other comparable solutions
selling for 5 times the cost as an entry point! The Max On The Go units
are in stock available for immediate same day shipment until 3PM Cst
from 3Gstore.com now!